Dodgeball-Twitter mashup raises cash for Special Olympics

Twitter and dodgeball — an unlikely pair, but several Mohawk College advertising students have thrown them together in order to raise money for Special Olympics Hamilton.

The first annual Twitter Dodgeball Championship will take place Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Ancaster High School, and the Mohawk students organizing the event are urging spectators to get involved and influence the game through their tweets.

'Basically the audience has a say in what goes on in the actual game.' —Lindsay Celeste, organizer

"Any spectators who come to watch it, they’ll be able to upload tweets and hashtag them," said advertising student Lindsay Celeste, who is working on the event with two of her fellow students.

"And if they decide that they want to throw a few extra balls in the court, they can do that. Or if they want another team to join the game, they can join the game. So basically the audience has a say in what goes on in the actual game."

Celeste, who is organizing the event for Special Olympics Hamilton as part of an end-of-semester assignment, said one of her fellow group members came up with the idea and it seemed like an interesting way to mix social media and dodgeball in order to raise money for a local organization.

"Unfortunately, Special Olympics Hamilton does not get funded because it’s a municipal organization," said Celeste. "At the national level, Special Olympics does get funding.… So that’s basically why we’re helping them out."

The event was titled the "first annual" Twitter Dodgeball Championship because Celeste and her fellow organizers are hoping to see students continue to organize it again in later years, depending on how this event goes.

Organizers are still accepting teams to participate in the event and interested parties are encouraged to email fellow organizer Kevin Junor at kevin.junor@elearn.mohawkcollege.ca. The deadline for team submissions is Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $5 and all proceeds will be going to Special Olympics Hamilton.